HP definitely isn't showing up to IFA empty-handed. To start, it's greatly expanding its line of detachable Windows tablets beyond the middle-of-the-road Split x2. The star of the show is undoubtedly a revival of the Envy x2 line. It's much more powerful this time around -- the tablet is using Intel's fast-yet-efficient Core M processor instead of an Atom chip, and it now comes with a much larger 13.3- or 15.6-inch screen. HP has also switched from a (relatively) conventional laptop design to a fabric-wrapped Bluetooth keyboard that's supposed to be more flexible. Be prepared to pay for all these upgrades, though. The 15.6-inch Envy will cost $950 when it reaches the US on November 5th, and its 13.3-inch counterpart hits October 29th for $1,050. Slideshow-219616

If the simplicity of ASUS' Chromebox is enticing, you'll be glad to hear that you can pick up the miniscule computer very soon. The $179 Chrome OS desktop is now available for pre-order at stores like Amazon, Newegg and TigerDirect, with the first wave of orders due to ship on March 14th. A base system starts out modestly with a 1.4GHz Celeron and 2GB of RAM, although you can splurge for a Core i3 model (the Core i7 variant isn't coming stateside). Just don't expect a completely silent machine -- AnandTechunderstands that none of the Chromeboxes are fanless, contrary to some expectations. As long that isn't a dealbreaker, though, you can snag ASUS' cheap PC at one of the source links.

As promised, Dell has taken the wraps off its first Chrome OS device, the Chromebook 11. The 11.6-inch, 2.9-pound laptop is built with the classroom in mind, and it should ship in tandem with a Wyse PocketCloud app that should make it easy for students and teachers to share their work online. Its 1.4GHz Celeron processor and 16GB solid-state drive are no great shakes, although the system could be the Chrome OS longevity champion -- Dell estimates a 10-hour battery life that could beat out Acer's long-lived C720. Educators who want the Chromebook 11 will have to be patient, though. A version with 4GB of RAM will ship to the US and UK in January. There will also be a 2GB model for cost-conscious schools, but Dell is only promising that it will launch sometime in the first quarter of 2014. Dell expects to sell at least one model under $300. Slideshow-149446

Aging Busta Rhymes witticisms aside, this new Lenovo might just be a contender for anyone on the lookout for a versatile Windows 8.1 machine. The Flex 10 is a 10-inch version of the Flex 14 and 15 models we've already seen, with the same 1,366 x 768 resolution and 10-point touch panel, but with a Bay Trail Pentium or Celeron processor instead of Haswell. It's a sort of half-way house between a fanless hybrid and a full-wattage laptop, and in some ways it offers the worst of both worlds -- for example, the base model provides a battery life of just four hours but has a relatively stocky weight of 2.6 pounds (1.2kg). On the other hand, the Flex 10 should run Microsoft Office and other productivity software at a faster clip than mobile-class machines like the Miix 10 or Miix2. Plus, it allows the screen to be flipped back 300 degrees into a "stand" mode, likely without costing as much as a Core i3-powered Yoga 11S -- assuming the unconfirmed starting price of $550 proves to be accurate. Lenovo has a habit of adding products to its website before releasing full pricing and availability, so we'll update this post when we learn more. (Woo Hah!)

Acer gave its Chromebook line a welcome tune-up when it launched the Haswell-based C720, but the $250 starting price was no doubt disappointing to those who wanted the C7's $200 entry point. The company is accommodating those spendthrifts today with its $200 C720-2848 variant. The only sacrifice is a lower 2GB of RAM; owners still get a 1.4GHz Celeron processor, a 16GB solid-state drive and that vaunted 8.5 hours of battery life. Should you want to save a cool $50, or are just frustrated that you can't buy a Chromebook 11, you can pick up the new C720 today from Amazon or Best Buy.

Acer was only willing to tease its Haswell-powered Chromebook at last month's Intel Developer Forum, but it's ready to spill the beans today. Now called the C720, the 11.6-inch system revolves around a more efficient 1.4GHz Celeron processor that (along with 4GB of low-power RAM) allows a healthy 8.5 hours of claimed battery life. The PC also ditches the hard drive of its ancestor; there's now a 16GB solid-state drive that improves responsiveness and helps Acer slim the design by 30 percent, to 0.75 inches thick. The company isn't saying just when the C720 will ship, but Amazon and Best Buy are both taking pre-orders today for a $250 based model that undercuts HP's Chromebook 11.

In recent years, Intel's Celeron and Pentium processors have been cut-down versions of more advanced counterparts. For the chips' next updates, Intel is taking an opposite tack -- it's bringing low-end Atom architecture into the big leagues. The company is confident enough in the speed and flexibility of the Bay Trail-based Atom platform that it's launching desktop and laptop versions (Bay Trail-D and Bay Trail-M) under the Celeron and Pentium badges. There isn't much more to share regarding the CPUs beyond their expected releases late in the year, although there's a good chance that we'll learn more at Computex next week.

After almost a year of Ivy Bridge implementation in everything from Windows tablets to miniature computers, Intel has finally rolled out its latest architecture to its budget line of silicon. According to CPU World, the chip giant released pricing and concrete specs for three Celeron CPUs, four Pentiums and a new Core i3-3210, all of which are available today. The Celerons all have 2MB of L3 cache, HD graphics and range from 2.3GHz to 2.7GHz. Meanwhile, the Pentiums rank a touch higher with 3MB of L3 cache, HD graphics and processors that clock at 2.5GHz on the low end to 3.2GHz on the high end. Last but certainly not least, the 3.2GHz Core i3 tops the lot with 3MB of L3 cache and HD 2500 graphics.

All the Celeron and Pentium models have two cores and two threads each, but the Core kicks it up to four threads with the help of Hyperthreading. They're all compatible with existing Socket 1155 motherboards and cost anywhere from $42 for the cheapest Celeron to $117 for the Core i3. Of course with Haswell on the horizon, Ivy Bridge won't be the latest and greatest for much longer, but that shouldn't derail budget-conscious silicon lovers from a good deal. If all of this CPU speak gets your heart thumping, be sure to peek at the source to get a more detailed pricing breakdown of each individual chip.

Gigabyte came to CES with a pair of Windows 8 tablets, the S1082 and S1185, in hopes of making a splash in a US market that still tends to associate the company name with PC motherboards. We had the opportunity to try both, and came away intrigued -- there's a handful of touches on each that separate them from the pack. Read after the break for our impressions and video tours. Gallery-175635 Gallery-175636

It's been just over a month since Google unveiled its gorgeous and affordable $249 Samsung Chromebook only to surprise us days later with an even cheaper system, the $199 Acer C7 Chromebook. At first glance, these two laptops are very similar, both in purpose (cloud-based computing on a budget) and in specs (11.6-inch display, dual-core CPU, 2GB of RAM), but there are significant differences under the hood. Samsung's offering achieves its svelte form factor, 6.5-hour battery life and attractive price via a fully integrated and fanless ARM-based design while Acer takes a more conservative approach -- cramming standard off-the-shelf components like a 2.5-inch hard drive, small-outline memory module, mini-PCIe WiFi card, and Intel Celeron processor into a traditional netbook-like chassis. Does being $50 cheaper make up for the C7's lack of sex appeal and short 4-hour battery life? What other compromises in performance and build quality (if any) were made to achieve this lower cost? Most importantly, which budget Chromebook is right for you? Find out after the break.Gallery-171705

Most of Lenovo's big Windows 8 desktop push has centered on the mid-range and up. Happily, the company is at last swinging its attention to those who the entry-level crowd, and most of all those who want their PCs as tiny as the price. The highlight of the refresh for many could be the IdeaCentre Q190. It's leaving the Q180's Atom-based nettop roots behind -- while the home theater PC is still skinny at 0.89 inches thick when excluding a Blu-ray or DVD add-on, leaps to both a maximum Core i3 processor and an 8GB RAM ceiling give the Q190 enough grunt to smoothly handle more than just the basics this time around. Mini PC enthusiasts who wait patiently for a January release can buy in starting at $349.

All-in-one lovers have no shortage of choices at the same time, as we're seeing no less than seven IdeaCentre C-series revamps. The C240 and C245 are mostly built as secondary PCs with respective Intel Celeron and AMD E2 chips as well as fixed-position, 18.5-inch screens; it gets more intriguing with the adjustable, 20-inch C340 and C345 variants as well as the Core i3 internals of the similarly styled 21.5-inch C440 and C445. A flagship C540 rules the roost with a 23-inch screen and Intel-only processor selections that peak at a Core i3. Despite Lenovo's full-scale assault on the category, only the $349 C240 and C245 will be shipping this month. We'll once again have to wait for January if we want to see the rest, although a tight pricing spread between $479 (for the C345) and $549 (for the C540) guarantees that we won't have to spend much to go bigger.

Lenovo must have struck a chord with schools looking for some rough-and-tumble ThinkPads, as it's bringing out the ThinkPad X131e even while teachers are still drafting their course plans for the fall semester. The new model keeps that better-than-military ruggedness in an 11.6-inch laptop while freshening the choices of AMD E-series chips or their Intel-made Celeron and Core i3 challengers. Dolby Advanced Audio even gives the speakers boost when it's not a matter of all work and no play. Educators, in turn, get the usual options for extended support or customizing the laptops with a little school pride. There's a premium to pay for putting classrooms on the cutting edge, however: at $499, the new systems are $70 more costly than the launch price of the X130e portables they replace, which leaves quite a bit less money for notebooks of the paper variety.

Intel announced its quad-core Ivy Bridge processors in April, but we've known that dual-core CPUs must be on the way too. And alas, the chip maker does have some up its sleeve -- 14, to be exact. Core i5 and Core i7 versions will be the first to ship, with Core i3 processors launching later this year along with new Pentiums and Celerons. Of the 14 dual-core processors, six are desktop-grade. The rest are mobile, though four are ultra-low voltage (which will be denoted by a U at the end of their name). Computex is just around the corner, and we expect to see plenty of Ivy Bridge systems -- especially Ultrabooks with ultra-low voltage CPUs -- there next week. In the meantime, we've already reviewed the Lenovo ThinkPad x230, a system running a dual-core 2.6GHz Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor. If you're into the nitty-gritty details, you'll find plenty to love in the Intel slides below the break.

Samsung has been almost completely silent regarding its Chromebox since its CES outing, so we were taken aback when we were tipped off that it was hiding in plain sight on TigerDirect's web store. Sure enough, a product listing provides a lot more detail about the tiny Chrome OS desktop than Samsung gave us in January, including its use of a 1.9GHz, dual-core Celeron B840, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 16GB solid-state drive and six (not five) USB ports. We haven't seen mention of the promised wireless keyboard and mouse bundle, although the retailer's configuration might reflect a stripped-down trim level: at $330, it's a lot less than the $400 we were quoted at the start of the year. We wouldn't count on the store listing staying up -- at least, not until Google I/O -- but you can get a whirlwind tour of the Chromebox's core features through the hilariously awkward video below, which strips out the price if you're not watching from TigerDirect itself.

Intel opened its back door and shuttled out a refresh of its chips without so much as a phone call, typical! Three desktop Core i5 chips made their way into the big bad world, the i5-2550K replacing the i5-2500K, the i5-2450P replacing the i5-2400 and the i5-2380P replacing the i5-2320. There's a suspicion that the P that follows the two latter models means the GPUs have been disabled / removed to differentiate the price. The four Celerons, two low-voltage, two ultra-low voltage similarly replace older models, from the $70 B720 (replacing the B710) through to the $134 Celeron 867, supplanting the 857. If that list of numbers hasn't whetted your appetite for, erm, more numbers, then head on past for detail so comprehensive you'll have to make sure it's covered by your HMO.

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Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:14:00 -050021|20160029http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/26/epson-shoves-a-core-i7-processor-in-a-chunky-nettop-will-build/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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Tiny desktops? Good. Wimpy processors? Bad. Epson's Endeavor ST150E? Possibly the best of both worlds. Sure, it's bigger than your average nettop, about twice as tall, but for that extra girth you get a selection of Intel processors ranging from a Celeron P4600 all the way up to a Core i7-640M. It also sports a DVD-R/W drive, up to 8GB of RAM, 640GB on platters or a 64GB SSD, mountability behind an LCD, and power consumption as low as 16 watts -- though we're guessing that's with the Celeron. Indeed you can get this built however you want, with a starting price at 64,890 yen, or just under $800. But, get liberal with the options and you could be looking at a rather less frugal 190,000 yen. That's about $2,300, and an awful, awful lot for a little machine.

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Tue, 26 Oct 2010 09:21:00 -040021|19689412http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/23/toshiba-and-best-buy-team-up-on-the-satellite-l635-kids-pc-one/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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If you're under the age of ten there probably isn't much that can top seeing the Jonas Brothers in concert, chasing after Justin Bieber or a new episode of iCarly, but Toshiba and Best Buy are hoping its new jointly created Kids PC can elicit similar feelings of excitement from them youngins. The 13.3-inch Satellite L635 Kid's PC, as you may have figured out by now, isn't a netbook -- no siree, it's a big kid system with a dual-core Intel Celeron P4600 processor, 2GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and 250GB of storage. But, of course, there are some aspects that set it apart from mommy and daddy's laptop -- in addition to the "gender neutral" gray and neon green coloring it's got a rubberized, wipeable keyboard that makes it easy to clean off the cookie crumbs and cooties. Toshiba's also gone and loaded the 4.2-pound machine up with loads of child friendly software; it comes with NetNanny parental controls, KidZui's web browser and games like Lego Batman. It isn't a bad package for $499, but it'll only available exclusively at Best Buy starting on September 26. Hit the break for the full release and the gallery below for some hands-on shots of the not-so-little guy. Gallery-103050 Gallery-103051

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Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:00:00 -040021|19644992http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/19/hanvon-ceo-smashes-apple-effigy-at-touchpad-launch-video/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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Want to draw attention to an otherwise ordinary piece of consumer electronics? Do something emotive like, say, smash a giant Apple ice sculpture in front of the world's Chinese press. Besides putting the boys in Cupertino on notice, Hanvon's officially launching the company's TouchPad B10 -- a 10.1-inch multitouch capacitive slate that we went hands-on with back in March. A €500ish device that runs Windows 7 on a retired 1.3GHz Celeron M ULV743 processor and Intel GMA 4500 graphics capable of delivering about 3.5 hours of battery life. Other specs include 2GB of memory, a regular ol' 2.5-inch 250GB or 320GB hard disk, HDMI-out, and WiFi. Watch the theatrics after the break while we wait for Hanvon's 1 million units sold announcement.

Those 45nm Intel Celeron 743 and SU2300 CPUs we've been seeing on spreadsheets and roadmaps may have found themselves a home with ASUS, if this DigiTimes report has any weight to it. According to the outlet, two new ultrathin portables powered by the aforementioned processors are set to launch on September 7th, with the first markets to get shipments being Taiwan, China, and Europe. Details are scarce beyond that and there's no mention of price, but we wouldn't be surprised to see it hit the $700 mark up to maybe even $1,000. Other sources say MSI and Acer will be making announcements of their own ultrathin laptops not too long after. September 7th is mighty soon, so part of us wonders if "launch" here is simply an unveiling, but in either case if there is something going on in a week, we can't imagine we'll get through the next few days without new factoids trickling out in the open.

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Mon, 31 Aug 2009 05:23:00 -040021|19145462http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/13/intels-core-i7-clarksfield-cpus-for-laptops-launching-late-se/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/13/intels-core-i7-clarksfield-cpus-for-laptops-launching-late-se/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/13/intels-core-i7-clarksfield-cpus-for-laptops-launching-late-se/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsTaiwanese rumor-rag, DigiTimes, has a knack for sniffing out insider information from within Taiwan's MoBo manufacturing cartel. So it's worth paying attention when it claims to have the latest launch schedule for Intel CPUs. Up first is a trio of laptop-based Clarksfield CPUs -- 2GHz Core 2 Extreme XE, 1.73GHz Core 2 Quad P2, and a 1.6GHz Core 2 Quad P1 –- ready to make their debut sometime around the end of September or October. These processors should carry the Core i7 brand to keep things as confusing simple as possible and would be a suitable match for a Q4 refresh of the MacBook Pro or Dell XPS laptop, for example. At the low end of the rumored schedule are a pair of Celeron SU2300 and Celeron 743 CPUs for ultra-thin laptops with an expected announcement coming at the end of September. Intel's also pegged with plans for desktop-based Lynnfield CPUs and P55 chipsets to be announced between September 8-11. The first announcement is set for early August -- if Intel starts making a fuss about its new Xeon procs for servers at that time then we'll have a pretty good idea as to the validity of DigiTimes' claims.

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Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:53:00 -040021|19095904http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/03/packard-bell-imedia-lineup-gets-an-acer-inspired-refresh/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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Packard Bell recently overhauled its logo in an effort to keep up with the times, but are its offerings up to the same task? The new imedia lineup immediately recalls the recently announced M-series desktops from Acer, and that's no accident. The innards are remarkably similar too, with the top models sporting Core 2 Quad or AMD Phenom II X4 processors, a 1.5GB GeForce GT230, HDMI out, Blu-Ray combo drive and a maximum of 8GB DDR3 memory and 1TB of storage. While none of the specs are on the blistering edge of innovation, there's plenty of power there and keen pricing could make them an attractive proposition. The entry-level Celeron-based units start at £299 ($490) in the UK.

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Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:47:00 -040021|19085859http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/01/emachines-intros-et1300-02-et1810-01-and-et1810-03-desktop-pcs/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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Just a few short weeks after eMachines outed its EL1300 line of SFF PCs, the company is hitting us up again with a new trio of full-size desktops. The ET1300-02, ET1810-01 and ET1810-03 are all encased within a luminous white mini-tower and ship with a matching LCD monitor, speakers and a keyboard. As for specs, the $449.99 ET1300-02 checks in with an AMD Athlon X2 4850e (2.5GHz) CPU, Vista Home Premium, NVIDIA's GeForce G100 (512MB), 3GB of DDR2 memory, a 160GB hard drive, 18x SuperMulti DVD burner, multicard reader, HDMI / DVI / VGA outputs and an 18-inch E182H display. The $369.99 ET1810-03 steps to a 2.2GHz Pentium E2210 CPU, GeForce 7500 integrated graphics and just a single VGA port, while the $299.99 ET1810-01 cranks it down to a 1.6GHz Celeron 420 and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. The trio should be filtering out to respected retailers as we speak.

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Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:47:00 -040021|19083621http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/30/dells-12-1-inch-vostro-1220-gets-official-in-japan-packs-few-s/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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We'd already come to grips with the fact that a Vostro 1220 was indeed on the way, and now Dell's own Japanese branch has confirmed it. Over in the Land of the Rising Sun, the 12.1-inch business laptop has gone legit, bringing with it Intel processor options (a 2.20GHz Celeron or 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo, namely), 1GB or 2GB of RAM, a WXGA (1,200 x 800) glossy display, 4-cell battery (a 6-cell is available), WiFi, three USB 2. sockets, FireWire, gigabit Ethernet, VGA output, ExpressCard slot, a multicard reader and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. The unit should start shipping soon in various configurations, with a lower-end build tagged at ¥79,980 ($837); needless to say, we're expecting a US announcement to follow in short order.

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Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:07:00 -040021|19082378http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/15/intel-celeron-core-i7s-and-atom-lineup-leaked/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
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The sun rises, seasons change, CPUs get faster, and Intel's plans get leaked. That's the way it works, so while this report from Digitimes listing out Intel's chip releases through the beginning of next year should be taken with a grain of salt, feel free to make it a small one. Apparently there's a new line of celery-packing Celeron processors coming in Q3 called E3000, starting with the 2.4GHz E3200 and the 2.5GHz E3300. Both feature 1MB of L2 cache, 800MHz FSB, 65W power consumption, and hardware virtualization, meaning either can take you to XP-on-Win7 nerdvana. There will also be a new Core i7 960 chip with a core frequency of 3.2GHz in the fourth quarter, which is also when the nettop-intended dual-core Atom D510 will drop, while the more portable-friendly dual-core Atom D410 won't release until Q1 next year -- bad news for those who'd been hoping for a speedier netbook under the Christmas tree.

It looks like those confused by the multitude of Intel processors out there needn't linger in indecision any longer, as Intel itself has now come up with a new scheme that it hopes will help simplify the buying process significantly. As you can see above, that consists of a new rating system that gives processors between one and five stars, which Intel says indicates "relative performance, not a price-performance type of thing." As you might expect, the five-star rating is reserved for the like of the Core i7 and Core i7 Extreme, with the one-star ranks apparently occupied solely by various Celeron processors -- the Atom, it seems, is in a class all its own. Somewhat less notably, Intel has also taken the opportunity to roll out some spruced processor logos, which should already be showing themselves in stores along with displays featuring the new star rating system.